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Inside and outside of Oakland

Detroit appeals financial emergency status Tuesday

The Detroit City Council is in Lansing Tuesday to try to convince the Michigan Department of Treasury that a state review team erred when it concluded the city has a financial emergency. The 10 a.m. hearing is before Deputy Treasurer Mary McDowell, said Kurt Weiss, spokesman for Gov. Rick Snyder. It will be streamed live at www.theoaklandpress.com, and on the state's website at www.michigan.gov/treasury. The hearing is a procedural opportunity for the city council, but few believe the determination by a state review team of a financial emergency in the state's largest city will change, and that appointment of an emergency manager for the city will be made. "It's their chance to come in and present any new information that may sway the detrmination to call a financial emergency," Weiss said Monday. Once the hearing is concluded, McDowell will prepare a report for the governor, a process expected to take 2-6 days, although there's no legal time limit set. Snyder is likely to appoint an emergency manager sooner rather than later, once the procedural appeals have run their course. But his staff says no announcement will be made immediately after the hearing. Unlike cardinals currently sequestered in the Sistine Chapel who will send up a puff of white smoke when they've selected a new pope, no puff of smoke is expected from the Capitol Building in Lansing when the governor announces his choice for an emergency manager. The governor usually uses news conferences, email, or a combination of both.